When I was in the SCA, I was happy to clean and tote the armor of the guy who was training me. Then again, it was expected of me. But it did help me become more part of the group that had been there awhile.

that really wasn’t the point. I was saying that if you want something from someone, offer them something first.

If you don’t want advice from that famous author, then it really doesn’t apply.

The point I am trying to make is this: asking your favorite author how they became famous and published may not work for you. You have different life experiences, different ideas, and different ways of doing things.

In my opinion, trying to emulate your favorite author may not allow you to think beyond what that other author has done. I have found this out personally trying several different times to write something in the same style as someone else and each time failing miserably.

I am not saying that published authors can’t contribute to other authors, they obviously can and have only on a more general level rather than a specific one. Stephen King, Orson Scott Card and others have tried to solve the problem of helping many want-to-be authors at once by doing what they do best, writing a book.

That is my two cents.

aaron

Mur, you’ve given much feedback to your listeners (as well as to me personally) and I sincerely appreciate the help. And as Scott Phillips has written, if you need help, I can do my best to help (promote something on my website to link to a project of yours, etc.) Just let us know.

But taking this in another direction: What I’d must want to hear from successful and even mid-list writers is their story: How did each of them get to where they are? Being a full-time writer and surviving off of that paycheck isn’t easy. I can’t even imagine doing that. Yet many writers do it: This harkens back to your “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” episode. Oftentimes writing doesn’t pay a lot. I’d like to hear the stories of writers: How they obtained their first “break.” Was it through networking (a friend of a friend introduced them to an agent). Did they attend a con and meet an agent there? Did they volunteer for a website and met people that way, etc. To me, these are interesting and also useful stories for those of us who try to be published–and in another light, the stories are also inspiriational!